Library:Race and Reunion
| Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory | |
|---|---|
| Author | David W. Blight |
| First published | 2001 |
| ISBN | — |
| Role | Analysis |
| Domains | History Society, Identity & Demographics |
| Tactics | Propaganda Technique False Context |
Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory is a 2001 book by David W. Blight.
Summary
Yale historian David Blight shows how, in the decades after the Civil War, Americans constructed a memory of the war that emphasized reconciliation between white Northerners and Southerners and pushed emancipation and Black Americans' experience to the margins. The book won the Bancroft Prize.
Key points
- The Lost Cause. Blight traces how Confederate veterans and writers recast the war as a noble defense of states' rights rather than a fight over slavery.
- Reconciliation. Northern willingness to reconcile meant accepting much of this story.
- Emancipationist memory. Black Americans and their allies kept alternative memories of the war alive, against the dominant narrative.
Relevance to Bullshitopedia
The book explains how one of the most persistent historical myths in American life was built and sustained.